Logitech G602 review: A gaming mouse that harnesses the power of science

In the world of PC gaming peripherals, Logitech and Razer could be likened to Microsoft and Apple — two kings of the landscape, with one focused more on getting the job done and the other focused more on presentation. Logitech tends to be the one focused on the job at hand, and that’s readily apparent with its new G602 gaming mouse — so much so that the mouse is being marketed as leveraging science to improve your gaming performance. The G602 is also Logitech’s first mouse to feature its Delta Zero sensor, which boosts both cursor accuracy and control, and battery performance.

Razer mice get the job done as well, but they always focus a little more on looks than options. The two company’s MMO mice are a perfect instance of this sentiment. Razer’s Naga and Logitech’s G600 MMO gaming mice both feature a 12-button thumb pad on the side of the mouse, with the rest of the buttons and wheels adding up to 17 or more programmable inputs.

Razer’s Naga is easier on the eyes, with its fancy glowing logo and sleeker body, while the G600 is more like someone stuck a bunch of buttons on an egg. However, what the G600 may lack in looks, Logitech makes up for in performance; the mouse features a shift button that toggles the 20-or-so inputs to an entirely different preset configuration. This means that with the G600, you have double the inputs of the Razer Naga. Like the G600, the new G602 isn’t as pretty as its Razer competitors (in fact, it looks like it was stitched together from other mouse parts), but it makes up for it with performance.

By now, you’ve heard the wireless G602 boasts an impressive 1440 hours of battery life, thanks to a performance mode dubbed Endurance Mode. The mouse takes two AA batteries, which provides 250 hours, but you also have the option of only loading one AA into the chamber, and the battery will last for 125 hours. This is a clever failsafe for when your batteries die, and you can only find one lying around the house. The mouse will last a while, and will even survive a battery-scarce home, but does it meet your gaming needs?

As we’ve mentioned above, the G600 is the best mouse for MMO gamers, or gamers that simply prefer a ton of inputs in the vicinity of their thumbs. Rather than the 12-button thumb pad, the G602 employs six buttons that jut off the left side of the mouse more like little cliffs than traditional buttons. Overall, there are 12 inputs: the mouse wheel, the middle click, the left and right clicks, two DPI changers (located to the top-left of the left click), and that six-button thumb pad. The mouse wheel doesn’t have horizontal clicks, and those two DPI buttons are better left to the DPI toggle, as there’s a little LED DPI meter next to buttons.